Tag Archives: Georgia

Bike News —Matt Portwood

Received Friday. -jsq In the Fall of 2010 the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority cut a red ribbon at a ceremony dedicating Phase II of Freedom Park. The park’s new phase included a walking track, disc golf course, and a dog park. The addition of the small dog park to Freedom Park’s amenities was largely the result of a motivated group of citizens who urged the Authority to build the leash-free exercise and play space. 444 locals signed an online petition requesting that the VLPRA “create an off-leash dog park, accessible to all residents and visitors where pets can safely be taken for exercise and play.” As a result of this community involvement, park visitors now have a safe and shaded spot to enjoy a game of fetch with Fido.

The mission of the VLPRA is

“to provide quality Recreation and Parks, and to advance environmental conservation, which promotes the highest quality of life for the entire community.”
In the upcoming months, the VLPRA will begin revising its master plan. Continue reading →

Quitman 10 to see Gov. Deal in Atlanta —George Rhynes

Received today. -jsq
Moreover, I have just been notified that the Quitman 10 will be traveling to Atlanta on Friday to meet with Georgia Governor Deal about remaining on the Brooks County Board of Education. I will most certainly miss Senator Robert Brown here in the State of Georgia.

-GEORGE BOSTON RHYNES

From Macon, Patrick Davis provides insight into the Quitman 10 case

While the Valdosta Daily Times, WCTV, and WALB remain silent about the Quitman 10, and all you hear on local TV is the D.A. giving his opinion of the case, in faraway Macon Patrick Davis digs into more things we should be hearing.

Patrick Davis wrote yesterday for the Macon Political Buzz Examiner, Jim Crow politics on display as Brooks County absentee case proceeds

Brad Shealy, who had been the long-time chairman of the Brooks Board of Education faced the prospect of being voted out as chairman and witnessing a majority-black Brooks County Board of Education for the first time ever.

Shealy lost his position when new leadership was elected in January 2011.

Shealy’s day job is the assistant district attorney under J. David Miller who originally started the investigation back in the late summer of 2010.

Excuse me? The former Brooks County school board chairman works for the D.A.’s office? And the D.A. is going on TV for pre-trial propaganda in the case?

Patrick Davis asks the obvious question: Continue reading →

D.A. Joe Mulholland on Fox News on the Quitman 10

This is what local TV viewers are hearing and seeing about the Quitman 10. Somebody tell me, is it appropriate for a district attorney to declare people guilty before trial?

Justin Schuver wrote for the Post-Searchlight 29 November 2011, Mulholland interviewed on Fox News

Local viewers of Fox News on Sunday morning might have seen a familiar face on their screen, as South Georgia Judicial Circuit District Attorney Joe Mulholland was interviewed by the national news station about his prosecution of a voter-fraud case in Brooks County, Ga.

Mulholland spoke to Fox News newsman Eric Shawn for approximately four-and-a-half minutes about the case, which involves 12 citizens charged for allegedly tampering in a July 2010 primary election.

According to the Valdosta Daily Times, school board incumbents Gary Rentz and Myra Exum were leading in their races, before the absentee ballots were counted. After those 979 absentee ballots were tabulated, challengers Linda Troutman and Elizabeth Thomas were able to overtake the incumbents’ leads and eventually win election in November.

On Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested

Continue reading →

What’s the VLMPO?

So you’ve heard about the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC). What’s this Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Organization (VLMPO)? How is VLMPO different from the GLPC?

Well, it’s not exactly the same geographical area. GLPC is exclusively for Lowndes County, including its cities. VLMPO is for the Valdosta Urbanized Area, which does not include all of Lowndes County, but does include parts of Berrien and Lanier Counties. According to VLMPO’s home page:

In April 2003, Governor Sonny Perdue officially designated the Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC) as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Valdosta Urbanized Area. As the MPO, the SGRC is responsible for carrying out transportation planning in the Metropolitan Planning Area using funding received from the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration, administered by the Georgia Department of Transportation. The MPO works with these and other transportation planning partners to fulfill the requirements of various federal, state and local transportation planning laws and plans.
And it’s not quite the same subject area. GLPC mostly hears rezoning cases, although it also deals with larger planning issues such as the Comprehensive Plan, which includes transportation. VLMPO is focused on transportation, but gets into all sorts of related issues: Continue reading →

Valdosta-Lowndes MPO Policy Committee Meeting Agenda —Corey Hull

Received yesterday. Includes an update on T-SPLOST and a Public Comment item. -jsq
Good Afternoon,

Please find attached the agenda for the Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Committee meeting on January 10, 2012 at 1:30 pm. At the SGRC office (address below). The public is welcome to attend.

If you have any questions please contact Corey Hull at chull@sgrc.us or at 229-333-5277.

Corey Hull, AICP
MPO Coordinator
Valdosta-Lowndes MPO
327 W. Savannah Ave.
Valdosta, GA 31601 		Visit our Facebook Site!
229.333.5277
229.300.0922 (c)
229.333.5312 (f)
chull@sgrc.us
www.sgrc.us/transportation

In addition to the PDF of the agenda, here’s an HTML version. -jsq
Policy Committee
Meeting Agenda
January 10, 2012
1:30 PM
Continue reading →

Planting Solar

When planting solar panels, be sure to tamp well:


Hannah Solar installing solar panels at Okra Paradise Farms;
Pictures by John S. Quarterman, 20 December 2011.

Actually, you may not want to try this at home, unless your panels have strong steel supports like these. Still, most solar panels are very sturdy.

More later on what’s going on here.

-jsq

More County Commission Transparency: Chatham County, Georgia

The Chatham County, Georgia Board of Commissioners has its agendas and minutes online. The agenda for 2 December 2011 does not include the detailed packet materials for most of the items to be voted on. However, it does include a table of dollar amounts and other details for bids that were to be voted on, so the public doesn’t have to go to the work session and scribble down what staff read aloud.

There’s also this interesting boilerplate:

Proposed changes to ordinances must be read or presented in written form at two meetings held not less than one week apart. A vote on the following listed matters will occur at the next regularly scheduled meeting. On first reading, presentation by MPC staff and discussion only by Commissioners will be heard.

Comments, discussion and debate from members of the public will be received only at the meeting at which a vote is to be taken on one of the following listed items.

So in Chatham County the Commission can’t just decide one day to change an ordinance.

Also it appears that the public does get to discuss and debate ordinance changes.

The minutes for 2 December 2011 contain quite a bit of detail as to who said what. Plus for each agenda item that was approved it includes the agenda packet information, such as item IX-2 on the right here, which is about local participation in jail construction.

This isn’t as transparent as Travis County, Texas. Chatham County doesn’t put the agenda packet items in the agenda, and doesn’t do videos. But it’s still more transparent than Lowndes County, Georgia, which doesn’t provide agenda packet items unless you do an open records request for each item you want to see.

-jsq

Cloudy transparency on RFP & bidding —Barbara Stratton

Received today on Transparency by a County Commission. -jsq
I don’t know how you found this example, but good work & thanks for the research. This is a real genuine effort to produce government transparency. Anything short of this is faux transparancy. Can you find out how the citizens were able to get this good faith transparancy enacted?

I am expecially concerned with the cloudy transparancy on RFP & bidding procedures within our county. Having spent 12 years in government construction contracting I know the detailed safeguards that have been enacted to protect the taxpayers from contracting fraud & crony capitalist back door agreements. It is my observation that these safeguards are being bypassed by end around tactics & the current popularity of public/private partnerships has a plethora of possiblities for good old boy system abuses.

Recently a local contractor started work on an unfunded, unawarded government project that was exposed by the local newspaper. The city’s answer to the illegal contracting procedures was to issue a contract change order for $143,807 with a 10% contingency. It has been my experience that anytime a contractor starts work on an unfunded project said contractor eats the cost of any work completed & all contractors are aware of this rule.

In addition it is a dis-service to taxpayers for that amount of money to be

Continue reading →

I really support … allowing non-violent offenders the opportunity to work and rehabilitate — Jessica B. Hughes

Received yesterday on Ankle monitoring for Lowndes County Jail. -jsq
I really support this idea. Initially, I was concerned about it, because I know that things like the SCRAM bracelet and the ignition interlock devices are very expensive to install and maintain, especially if you consider the costs involved with probation fees. $213.00/month may not sound like a lot of money to some people, but it is a king’s ransom to others (saying $7.00/day makes it seem more manageable). Still, allowing non-violent offenders the opportunity to work and rehabilitate themselves outside of a prison is a big step forward in the philosophy of crime and punishment in this county, in my opinion.

-Jessica B. Hughes